


Late at Night, In the Soft Warm Glow

by alreadysomeone



Category: Scarecrow and Mrs. King
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-17 04:54:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28843419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alreadysomeone/pseuds/alreadysomeone
Summary: Lee, Amanda… in her bedroom late at night, in the soft warm glow of her bedside lamp.  Expands on the scene in Season 3, Episode 1 “A Lovely Little Affair” where Lee climbs the trellis into Amanda’s bedroom.
Relationships: Amanda King & Lee Stetson, Amanda King/Lee Stetson
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	Late at Night, In the Soft Warm Glow

**Author's Note:**

> Expands on the scene in Season 3, Episode 1 “A Lovely Little Affair” (though I subscribe to the altered order in which this would be episode #5) where Lee climbs the trellis up to Amanda’s bedroom. I’ve taken some liberties with the action/dialogue before going off canon completely. I have no doubt that about a gazillion fics have been written about (and have expanded on) this scene since it aired in September 1985 - mine will be number gazillion-and-one as I offer up my take.

As soon as Lee had seen the proof sheet of Amanda’s surveillance photos, there was no question in his mind - Amanda needed to be off the Alan Chamberlain case. Immediately. Red February terrorist Franco Necci had been standing not two feet from Chamberlain. There was  _ no way _ that was a coincidence. And Amanda needed to be as many feet away from Chamberlain as possible.

Abandoning Representative Faber in the Q Bureau to make her own sense of years-old receipts and expense reports was an easy call. Especially the part where he got to tell her that they’d deal with her women’s underwear problem later. In truth, Lee would’ve left a first base-line seat during a tied-up 9th inning of a seventh game of the World Series to warn Amanda off Chamberlain.

While it may have flitted at the edges of his mind that an early morning phone call to Amanda would’ve sufficed, his conscious brain never got the message. Lee was absolutely resolved in his quest to talk to her in person.

He could’ve kicked himself for not insisting that she call him when she got home from her dinner with Chamberlain. As Lee hopped into the Corvette and peeled out onto the empty late-night streets of Georgetown he growled to himself, “She’d better not still be out with him.” The thought made him see red and put a knot in his stomach in a way he hadn’t expected.

Lee pulled right up to the King house, not bothering to park down the block, and as he approached the house he realized he didn’t have a plan for getting to her. Dismissing the slim - and distasteful - chance that she  _ was _ still out with Chamberlin, Lee knew the hour was far too late for Amanda to still be in the kitchen or even puttering around downstairs. She would be in her bedroom. On the second floor.

Walking to the side of the house, Lee denied the obvious: how absurd it would be to climb the trellis up to Amanda’s bedroom window. He only knew that he needed to see her, needed to hear from her that everything had gone smoothly with Chamberlain, and then to tell her in no uncertain terms that this was no longer a simple security clearance assignment and she was off the case. If there were anyone who could inadvertently find themselves in the middle of a terrorist plot, it was Amanda. He needed to be sure she’d be safe.

It took a few raps on the pane before Amanda realized someone was at the window - and not on the phone as her sleep-addled brain had first assumed. 

“Amanda. It’s me. Let me in.”

Amanda had told Lee any number of times hom much she hated it when he snuck up on her, but apparently she’d gotten so used to it, that when he turned up at her second-floor window in the middle of the night, she matter-of-factly asked what he was doing out there, helped him climb over the sill, and made sure he was okay once he was in.

Lee’s entrance wasn’t one of his finer physical feats, but he was relieved to finally be inside and with Amanda.

“Sorry to barge on you like this but it’s an emergency.”

“No problem,” Amanda seemed unphased, as she walked back to her bed. On the way, she shut her bedroom door all the way and turned on her bedside lamp, which gave the room a soft, warm glow. She got mostly back under the covers, crossing her legs under the blankets and sitting up to talk with Lee. 

To them both, this seemed just like any other time Lee had dropped by to follow up on a case. Somehow, the fact that they were in her bedroom in the middle of the night, while she was in just her nightgown hadn’t registered. It spoke to their comfort with one another and their dedicated focus on their jobs.

“How’d everything go with Chamberlain? ”

Lee’s ego had been temporarily reassured earlier in the day when Amanda confirmed that Chamberlain was as boring as he looked. But still, the knot in his stomach threatened to return if he referred to her evening meeting with Chamberlain as a ‘date.’

“It went just fine, it was textbook, you know. He just talked about his travels... and his work.” 

Before introducing the terrorist connection, Lee hoped to tease out anything that might hint at Chamberlain’s ties to Franco Necci. “Anything unusual happen?”

“No, nothing worth mentioning,” Amanda replied, touching her lips absently.

Her words satisfied Lee on the terrorist angle. “Well, you can quit tailing him now. Have nothing more to do with him.”

The perceived insult spurred Amanda into frustrated defiance. “Now wait a minute. I’m doing a good job!” 

With slightly less enthusiasm than she would’ve liked, Lee replied, “Yes, you’re doing just fine. But here, I wanna show you something. See this guy standing behind Chamberlain?”

Lee moved forward and sat on the edge of her bed, took a photo from his jacket, then scooted even closer so she could see the picture. 

“Uh-huh.”

“He’s a terrorist by the name of Franco Necci. Now you factor that in and this is a  _ totally _ different situation.”

Lee hoped his explanation would assure Amanda that taking her off the case wasn’t a reflection of any less-than-commendable work on her part. More than that, he wanted her to understand the kind of danger that Alan Chamberlain posed.

“But Lee, look. Alan’s just sitting there.”

“Amanda…” Lee sighed quietly and looked up at her. “I know you want to believe the best about everyone, but this is  _ very good _ evidence that this could be a meeting.” Lee jabbed a finger at the image of Necci and Chamberlain. “Now look, we know that Chamberlain’s in D.C. to check out valuable documents. This terrorist group, Red February, might be after one of them. So we’ll take over from here.”

“That’s what always happens,” Amanda groused. “Lee, there is no reason you can’t keep using me. I’m the only one who has access to him.”

“True…” he admitted warily, still against her continued involvement.

“Yes, and I’m supposed to meet him in the morning for breakfast.” Not wanting to give him a chance to object, Amanda rushed on. “Lee, it’s a public place. There’ll be a lot of people around. Look, you and Francine could be there at another table. Textbook: Manual Two, Chapter Nine.”

Amanda grinned at Lee, proud of the solid logic she’d presented and the textbook she quoted. The furrows in Lee’s brow told her that he wasn’t quite there with her yet, so she continued.

“Lee, if we get any more information between now and then, or if anything seems off when I’m there, I’ll get in the station wagon and drive away.”

Looking hard at Amanda, Lee conceded, chuckling a bit at her tenacity in spite of his still-present concern.

“You be damn sure you see us before you walk in that place.” With a finger pointing at her, Lee laid out his condition for endorsing the plan.

“I will,” Amanda promised.

“It’s a deal.”

“It’s a deal,” she agreed.

Lee thrust his hand out to shake on it, and they shared a smile. These exchanges, where they bantered ideas and arguments back and forth, were the foundation of their partnership. It was how they did best casework; they energized each other, and it just  _ worked _ .

As soon as the seconds began to tick past what would’ve been considered more than adequate time for a ‘deal’ handshake, something changed. It was like a switch had been thrown. The intimacy of their surroundings came crashing down around them.

Amanda noticed - seemingly for the first time - that she was wearing only her nightgown. Even as they held onto one another’s hands, she placed her left palm over the bareness of her upper chest, nevermind the fact that she had shown much more skin in the dresses she’d worn at dinners and parties with him.

For Lee, Chamberlain’s terrorist involvement as the instigator for his urgent late night visit suddenly seemed like a hazy memory. Seeing Amanda suddenly look down, his gaze dropped too, where he focused on their still-joined hands. He instinctively began to move his thumb across the back of her hand, and was enthralled by the warmth and softness of her skin that mirrored the ambiance of the room.

What had been a comfortable and collegial discussion, turned intimate in mere moments. They remained frozen - both looking at their joined hands, neither wanting to let go of the contact, and yet not knowing what to do next.

Looking up at Amanda again, Lee was captivated by her beauty. A slightly sleepy countenance, her hair not ‘done,’ and no makeup on her face. She was perfect. He slowly started to slide his hand away, not really wanting to let go, but knowing that one of them needed to make some kind of move and it was the only thing he could think of.

As soon as he did, Amanda grabbed onto his hand, halting his retreat. She met his gaze and the moment seemed to last for a thrilling eon. Surprising Lee with her initiative, Amanda reached the hand that had covered her chest and grasped the lapel of his jacket to draw him close. Lee responded immediately, moving his free hand up to tangle in her adorably mussed hair as they came together in a kiss.

This kiss wasn’t like the one they’d shared as part of their wedding cruise cover… well, in some ways it was. Lee felt the same arousing rush of dopamine instantly course through him as it had on San Angelo, but this time it wasn’t an unexpected revelation that his body responded so strongly to her.

Sitting there on her bed, the first kiss turned into a series of kisses that firmly asserted their mutual attraction. Kissing with affection and unhesitating exploration, one kiss melded easily into the next.

Lee would never have imagined this happening. Maybe he’d entertained a scenario or two in his imagination since they’d met - but this reality was  _ so much more _ . Reveling in the sensation of their kisses, Lee was suddenly certain that when Amanda had touched her lips saying ‘nothing interesting’ had happened with Chamberlain, she’d left something out. The sickening knot in his stomach came back and he just  _ knew _ that they’d kissed. Earlier, Lee’s driving need had been to see Amanda in person to ensure her safety, now there was nothing he needed more than to erase any hint of Alan Chamberlain’s lips from her memory.

Amanda marveled at how when Alan had kissed her, there was just… nothing, but with only a handshake, the chemistry with Lee was palpable. They’d shaken hands dozens of times, but tonight the attraction between them became undeniable and not acting on it would’ve been unthinkable. Lee’s lips set her body on delightful alert and it just felt right.  _ He _ felt right. This was the kiss - this was the  _ man _ \- she wanted, and she breathed out a sound somewhere between a sigh and a moan.

Lee shifted his weight to rise up a bit and then guide them down, so that Amanda’s head rested on her pillow while he remained hovering above her, their lips still together. Lifting his head to look her in the eyes, Lee voiced what he couldn’t get out of his mind.

“He kissed you tonight, didn’t he?”

Amanda nodded silently. She really didn’t want to talk about Alan Chamberlain. She was already well on her way to forgetting all about him and his kiss.

“How was it?” Lee pressed.

“The kiss?”

“Yes. What was kissing Alan Chamberlain like?” An immature possessiveness was driving him to insist that she describe it.

“Lifeless.”

“Good.”

Lee’s dimples creased his cheeks as he smiled and Amanda grinned happily back. Suddenly serious again, Lee wanted to be absolutely  _ sure _ she could feel the difference between ‘lifeless’ and the stunning frisson that was running between them.

Amanda had never felt anything like the chemistry she had with Lee. Of course, she’d thought he was attractive from the start - he was charming and indisputably good looking. As their working relationship had grown so had their friendship and he became so much more than just ‘handsome.’

Lee felt the pull of arousal tempting him to ignore his better angels. Baser carnal instincts would’ve had him take her right there and then. At the same time, the ease and electricity between them, the softness of her bed, the scent of  _ her _ next to him and on her pillow and sheets made Lee want to keep kissing her like this forever.

He moved to nuzzle and kiss her neck, where the scrape of his more-than-five o’clock shadow was sending intoxicating thrills through Amanda’s body. She could easily lose her sense of self and sanity reveling in how they felt together, so she tried to coax at least a corner of her mind back.

Even while holding him tightly to her, she chided, “Lee Stetson, don’t you dare put your shoes on the bed.”

With his face settled in the crook of her neck, Lee’s laugh was muffled. “Amanda - there’s no one more ‘Amanda’ than you.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said as she played her fingers through his hair.

“I meant it as one.”

Lee scooted up to kiss her mouth again and fought the instinct to never, ever, leave her side. However, it was already late and they both needed to be up and alert for Amanda’s breakfast with Chamberlain. 

Resting his weight on his elbow and continuing to stroke her hair while he gazed down at her, Lee jokingly hinted at getting even more comfortable in her bed. “I should probably go. Or… I could take my shoes off.”

After a beat or two of silence, they spoke at the same time and with the same humorously resigned tone.

“I should go.”

“You should go”

“Yeah,” Lee sighed as he sat up and ran a hand through his hair while his breath started to even out.

Amanda moved the covers aside and rested a hand on his shoulder as she stood. “Don’t get up until I turn the lamp off.”

Once the light was off, they moved toward the window, where the trellis would serve as Lee’s exit route. Lee placed his hands on her arms in one of their familiar poses, which now felt much more personal.

“Amanda,” Lee began as he rubbed his hands up and down her arms, pausing to tuck a tress of hair behind her ear. “I’d climb up and down barbed wire to kiss you again. But I really hope it doesn’t come to that.”

If questioned, Lee would’ve been hard pressed to say whether he wanted to reassure Amanda or himself that this amazing thing between them wasn’t a fluke or a fantasy.

Amanda shook her head and laughed, feeling a comforting warmth at his declaration. “We’ll find a better way than the trellis to do this again.”

“Soon?” he pleaded, suddenly desperate for confirmation.

“As soon as possible.”

With a squeeze on her arms and an assertive but quick kiss, Lee turned to draw the shade and open the window for his departure. Once he was out, he stuck his head back in.

“You be careful tomorrow morning. Remember our promise?” Above and beyond any romantic feelings, he needed to know that she’d be safe.

“I will,” Amanda confirmed, sealing the deal by bending forward, grabbing him behind the head and getting in one, last, lingering kiss.

END


End file.
